Denver has allowed fewer points per 100 possessions when Nikola Jokić is on the floor in 9 of his 11 seasons.
He's 11th all time in career defensive rebounding percentage.
Among players his height and up, he's 5th in career steal percentage.
Dunks and Threes' estimated plus-minus has him above average in defense in every season of his career.
ESPN's Net Points (their new catch-all) has him above average in every season since 2019-20 (as far back as it goes).
On top of the above, since no one who says stuff like this online actually watches the Nuggets, it's worth noting that Jokić is constantly calling out opponents' plays and directing teammates on the defensive end. Look up "Anthony Edwards & Gobert hilarious reaction to Nikola Jokic knowing their ATO play"
He's usually in the right spots on defense, has good defensive hands for a big and ends plenty of possessions with rebounds.
No, he's not a rim protector. And his approach to avoiding foul trouble at the rim looks terrible in lowlight reels that go viral on X. Like most bigs, he can get exposed by perimeter players outside. But the idea that he's a minus on defense is wrong.
There was a narrative, for years, that Denver would never be able to construct a championship-level defense as long as Jokić was on the roster. Well, the Nuggets won a championship with Jokić on the roster and beat two teams with offensive superstars that much of the mainstream media and audience believed would beat them.
@JamesMc81806569@LSUbaseball Yeah it definitely wasn’t because your ace got shelled and gave up the most runs he gave up all year or scoring 3 runs in 2 games 🤣🤣🤣